


A Rare Commodity

by MoonlitMusings



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: But not in the fun way, M/M, Sharing a Bed, because isn't it always with these two?, kinda angsty, the T rating is very light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 10:16:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9603569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlitMusings/pseuds/MoonlitMusings
Summary: My take on what might have happened after Juno went back to the room at the end of Train from Nowhere part 1.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of me re-listening to Train from Nowhere part 1 and having a Lot of feelings about it.

Juno stood out in the hallway for a few minutes after calling Rita, trying to figure out what he should do. The simplest answer, of course, was go back to the room and go to bed. Just because it was the simplest answer, though, didn’t mean it was the easiest one. There was no way Nureyev would be asleep yet. And even if he was, there was nothing saying he wouldn't wake up when Juno came in, or got into bed. Should he sleep on the bed? There was a couch in the room, too. It might be better to sleep there, instead. Getting into bed with Nureyev, well, Juno didn’t let himself linger on all the complications that could lead to.

What were his other options, besides going back to the room? He could always try to get another room for himself, but he had a feeling one night’s stay in a janitor’s closet in this place would still be more than a month’s rent. He could go down to the bar, have a few drinks. If he got lucky, maybe he could find someone else’s room to spend the night in. But... no. Something about the thought didn’t quite sit right with him. He tried not to think too hard about why. (It definitely wasn’t the thought of walking into the room the next morning, Nureyev waking up and seeing the time and the state he was in. It wasn’t the image of him trying and failing to hide the hurt in his eyes. That had nothing to do with it.) Juno sighed and ran a hand through his hair. There really wasn’t any other choice, then. He couldn’t exactly sit out in the hallway all night.

He slowly walked down the hall and back to the room, opening the door as quietly as he could. Even though Nureyev was almost definitely still awake, maybe if Juno was lucky he would pretend to be asleep so they wouldn’t have to talk about what had just happened.

“Hello, Detective. I was almost worried I wouldn’t see you back here tonight.” But then, when had relying on luck ever gotten Juno anywhere? Nureyev leaned up slightly, propping himself up on one arm. The room was dark, but he was illuminated by the light streaming in through the door.

“Not really any other place for me to go, is there?”

“I’m sure you could have figured something out.” Judging by the look on his face, Juno figured he was thinking through the same options he had in the hall.

“Yeah, well, I’m here now, aren’t I?” Juno closed the door and stood there, giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, the muted light bleeding through the curtains now the only source of illumination. He toed off his shoes and socks, and slipped off his suit jacket, hanging it on the back of a chair before plodding over to the couch and laying down. Nureyev sat up, the blankets falling to his lap. Juno did his best to keep his eyes on Nureyev’s face.

“What are you doing?” Nureyev asked, looking genuinely confused.

“Going to sleep. What does it look like I’m doing?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Juno, but this room does, in fact, have a bed.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Nureyev, but the bed is currently occupied.” Nureyev rolled his eyes.

“Oh for the love of- really? Are we children, now? It is possible, detective, for two people to share a bed for no purpose other than sleeping in it.”

“Yeah, well-”

“And,” Nureyev interjected, “we have a rather important day tomorrow, which will require both of us to be at our best, and there is no way you will get any kind of decent rest on that couch.” Juno shrugged.

“I sleep on the couch in my office all the time. It’ll be fine.”

“Well, that certainly explains why you always look so exhausted.” They stared at each other for a long moment, before Nureyev sighed. “Juno, please. This is ridiculous. Just get in bed. I assure you, my hands will be kept completely to myself.” Juno eyed him for a moment longer before huffing out a breath and getting up, walking over to the bed.

“What? No sly comment? No quip about keeping your hands to yourself unless I ask nicely?” Nureyev leveled a hard stare at him.

“Believe it or not, detective, yelling matches and having my character so thoroughly questioned don't exactly put me in the mood.” Juno swallowed and looked away, guilt and shame pooling in his stomach. Nureyev really hadn’t deserved that. Any of it. Granted, Juno didn’t really have anything concrete to base his trust on, but Nureyev _had_ trusted _him_. He’d shown his trust over and over again, even though they’d only really known each other for two days, total. How had it only been two days? It felt like they’d been doing this little dance of theirs for weeks. Months, even.

“Look, Nureyev, I... I’m... sorry. I shouldn’t have acted like that. I just... trust is kind of a rare commodity in my life, and I don’t... I’m still not... But you... well, you’ve trusted me so far. More than I deserved, really. So... I’m sorry. I’ll try to have a little more faith in you.” He looked back over and saw Nureyev’s expression had softened considerably.

“Juno...” he murmured in a way that made Juno’s chest feel funny and his throat feel tight. He looked for a second like he was trying to decide what to say. Finally he took a deep breath. “Thank you.” Juno nodded, and pulled back the covers. Nureyev shifted over, closer to the opposite side of the bed, keeping his eyes on Juno, and laid back down. Juno’s chest ached slightly at the movement, but he said nothing. He went to lay down, and Nureyev’s brows furrowed slightly. “I- please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve found sleeping in dress clothes tends to be rather uncomfortable.” Juno paused, looking down at his slacks and crisp shirt. “You can, of course, if you want. I merely thought...” Nureyev shook his head. “My apologies. Forget I said anything.”

“No, no you’re right,” Juno replied, just as Nureyev was rolling over to face the other way. “I figured I’d get cold on the couch without them, but...” Juno shrugged, and started unbuttoning his shirt with only slightly shaky fingers. He took off his slacks and slid into the bed wearing just his boxers. He stuck as close to his edge of the bed as he could without worrying about falling off, but even then, he still felt Peter’s warmth radiating from the other side. He could smell that damn cologne, too, wrapping around him like one of the blankets. It was goona be a long night. He took a steadying breath. “Goodnight, Nureyev,” he murmured.

“...Goodnight, Juno,” came the soft reply. Juno closed his eyes and tried to relax, the warmth and scent of Nureyev lying next to him doing far more to help him fall asleep than he would ever willingly admit. And when he woke up a couple hours later to find himself nestled against Nureyev’s side, one arm thrown across his waist, face pressed against his shoulder, well, Juno definitely wouldn’t admit to sleepily snuggling a little closer before closing his eyes and drifting off again.


End file.
